Baltimore Business Journal articles from November 1999

Baltimore Business Journal archives from November 1999

Md. safe in IHS's loan deal.
November 5, 1999... State officials claim $2.5 million secure A $2.5 million loan Maryland taxpayers made to troubled Integrated Health Services Inc. should be paid back in full if the company does not live up to promises, state. officials said this week. ...

Takeover talk fuels Price stock.(T. Rowe Price Associates Inc)
November 5, 1999... The most coveted mutual fund company in the country right now might just be T. Rowe Price Associates Inc. Industry analysts say the Baltimore-based company, which has $157 billion in assets under management, would be the best acquisition...

E*Trade who?
November 5, 1999... Traditional brokerages battle the upstarts The allure is there, and Jonathan Murray, a broker at Legg Mason Wood Walker's down-town Baltimore office, knows it. Investors can pull the trigger on dirt-cheap stock trades through E*Trade or...

Hess Shoes closing final IO stores in region.(Brief Article)
November 5, 1999... Hess Shoes, Baltimore's oldest shoe retailer announced this week that it will close its remaining 11 stores in the area and go out of business. According to president and CEO Larry Drombetta, the German company that purchased the Hess chain in...

GTS Duratek reports record 3Q results.(Brief Article)
November 5, 1999... GTS Duratek announced net income of $2.9 million on revenues of $44.8 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared to net income of $1.9 million on revenues of $39.4 million for the same quarter in 1998. Officials attributed the improved...

CORRECTION.(Correction Notice)
November 5, 1999... Last week's list of "Largest law firms in the Baltimore area" [Vol. 17, issue 23] incorrectly listed the managing partner of Niles, Barton and Wilmer in Baltimore. Robert F Scholz is the managing partner. The Business Journal regrets the error....

For Burch, a busy week.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 5, 1999... You will have to forgive Frank Burch if he looked a little tired last week. The co-chairman of the new Piper Marbury Rudnick & Wolfe LLP, presided over the merger of his firm, celebrated the completion of a capital campaign he chaired and moved...

Traffic foils business, residents in Arundel.(Anne Arundel Community College survey)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 5, 1999... Anne Arundel County residents are getting fed up with traffic congestion, according to a new poll. The Anne Arundel Community College Center for the Study of Local Issues found that a whopping 70 percent of survey respondents believe...

Coal company moving to Anne Arundel.
November 5, 1999... U.S. division of international company plans 80 Jobs at Linthicum headquarters The U.S. division of an international coal company is moving its headquarters to Linthicum, bringing with it about 80 new jobs and another economic development...

Labor demand still high, surveys show.(Maryland Business Climate Survey, American City Business Journals cite statistics for Baltimore)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 5, 1999... Employment and job growth in the Baltimore area continue to lag behind the rest of the nation. At the same time, Maryland businesses report having difficulty finding workers with needed skills, according to two recent studies. In 1998, the...

Church Hospital notifies employees of layoffs.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 5, 1999... As Church Hospita1 slowly ceases to exist, the first wave of layoffs for the historic institution has some of the hospital's 800 workers is in search of new work. The hospital notified the State of Maryland that it is laying off 84 people,...

Mont. Co. tables tax on growth.(Montgomery County Council tax deliberation)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 5, 1999... A proposed development impact tax has been tabled by the Montgomery County Council. Instead, the council's five-member slow-growth majority voted Oct. 28 to end the controversial "pay-and-go" program, which allowed developers to pay fees...

Check Gallery moves to add jobs in Harford.
November 5, 1999... The Check Gallery Inc., a Joppa-based printer, is expanding its Harford County manufacturing facility -- a plan that could mean up to 60 new jobs for the region. "This is a quality local company, providing good jobs and using technology to...

Baltimore, PG to apply for bolstered enterprise zones.
November 5, 1999... Prince George's County officials are trying to breathe life into their comatose enterprise zone areas -- a process that Baltimore's new administration will be watching closely. The Prince George's County Economic Development Corp. wants to...

Bank developing retail center in Gardenville.(Madison Square Federal Savings)
November 5, 1999... Madison Square Federal Savings Bank is seeking to bring a new retail center to the Gardenville area of Belair Road as part of its plan to move its corporate headquarters to Perry Hall. The thrift, with three branches in Baltimore City,...

Washington company buys Hanover building.(Darala Investment and Development)
November 5, 1999... A Washington, D.C., investment company has purchased the Hanover building that was a former distribution center for tire-maker Michelin North America Inc. Darala Investment & Development Corp. purchased 7255 Standard Drive in the Parkland...

MIE breaks ground on two office complexes.
November 5, 1999... Nearing the end of one of its busiest building years in recent time, MIE Properties Inc. has started construction on two new projects, one in Hunt Valley and one in Anne Arundel County. Catonsville-based MIE is building three new...

D.C. company expands office, industrial space.(Brief Article)
November 5, 1999... Washington, D.C.-based John Akridge Cos. is continuing its expansion into low-rise flexible office and industrial space. The company recently broke ground on two projects: Gateway 270 in Clarksburg in Montgomery County and Cabot tech @...

Ownership changes at Bethesda metro site.
November 5, 1999... A prominent downtown Bethesda property is changing hands for $120 million. Blackstone Group, a New York-based investment firm, and the District's Meridian Group bought Bethesda Metro Center from Rockville-based CR1. Included in the...

Cochran, Stephenson & Donkervoet.(gets house of delegates contract)(Brief Article)
November 5, 1999... * The Baltimore architecture firm Cochran, Stephenson & Donkervoet has been selected to design an $11 million renovation and expansion of the House of Delegates building in Annapolis. The project is one of a number of new contracts for the...

Board of Public Works.(Brief Article)
November 5, 1999... * The state's Board of Public Works has approved three contracts totaling $829,150 for construction of a new 145,000-square-foot student commons building at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Baltimore's Kimball Construction Co....

St. Joseph opens new ICU unit to patients.(Brief Article)
November 5, 1999... Seriously ill and critical care patients at St. Joseph Medical Center will now be treated in a state-of-the-art surgical/intensive care unit, which hospital officials say was desperately needed -to maintain St. Joseph's status as a premier...

State's biotech ranks high in magazine study.
November 5, 1999... Maryland's biotechnology industry was ranked 14th in the country by Business Facilities magazine. Johns Hopkins University, the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute and the National Institutes of Health were among the companies...

Digene reports health plans approving test.(Brief Article)
November 5, 1999... The HPV Test, a cervical cancer screen made by Beltsville biotech company Digene Corp., has been accepted by health plans covering 70 million people. Evan Jones, Digene's chairman and CEO, said many of the insurance carriers are Blue Cross...

D.C. hospital revenues drop to three-year low.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 5, 1999... Maryland hospitals aren't the only ones suffering from the effects of Medicare cuts. Operating margins for District hospitals in 1998 dropped to a three-year low of -2.78 percent, according to the D.C. Hospital Association, which compiles...

Magellan renews Texas assistance contract.(Brief Article)
November 5, 1999... The Texas Workforce Commission has renewed its employee assistance program contract with Columbia-based Magellan Behavioral Health Services. Under the contract, about 9,600 employees of the commission, based in Austin, can call Magellan...

Southern Md. hospital seeks $10 million loan.(Brief Article)
November 5, 1999... Civista Health, which runs Charles County's only hospital, has asked the county for a $10 million loan, claiming it needs the cash by the end of the month to get it through expansions and problems collecting bills. So far, though, county...

The Columbia Bank to build Timonium branch.(Brief Article)
November 5, 1999... Moving further into Baltimore County, The Columbia Bank will open a new branch in Timonium by year-end. The office will be The Columbia Bank's sixth in the north Baltimore area. The bank runs branches in Roland Park, the Village of Cross...

Rowe Price-Fleming International turns 20.(Brief Article)
November 5, 1999... Rowe price-Fleming International Inc. is marking its 20th anniversary as the oldest joint venture between a domestic and offshore money manager. The Baltimore-based company was created in 1979 as a joint venture between T. Rowe Price...

First Mariner Bancorp tops $600M in assets.(Brief Article)
November 5, 1999... First Mariner Bancorp, the parent company of First Mariner Bank, reached $608.5 million in assets for the third quarter ending Sept. 30 as the company announced earnings of 8 cents per share, up from earnings of 5 cents per share for the same...

Insurance unit boosts earnings at Union.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 5, 1999... Income from its insurance subsidiary helped boost earnings at Union National Bancorp Inc., the holding company for Union National Bank in Carroll County, for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, company officials said. Union National reported...

Leeds continuing stock repurchase program.(Brief Article)
November 5, 1999... Leeds Federal Bankshares Inc., parent company of Leeds Federal Savings Bank, is set to buy back additional shares of company stock, company officials said. The company had already repurchased 397,256 of the 475,000 shares it had been...

TBC opens office in Washington, D.C.(Brief Article)
November 5, 1999... Trahan, Burden & Charles, one of Baltimore's largest advertising firms, opened an office in Washington, D.C., its third outside its home base. Trahan, which is based on Charles Street downtown, opened a New York. City office in June and an...

DAP chooses RM&D for PR, marketing.(Brief Article)
November 5, 1999... DAP Inc., the Baltimore caulk and sealant manufacturer, chose local advertising and public relations agency Richardson, Myers & Donofiro, for its public relations and marketing efforts. RM&D is going to focus on DAP's new product launches...

BBJ parent enters into deal with Internet firm.(Brief Article)
November 5, 1999... American City Business Journals Inc., the parent company of the Baltimore Business Journal, last week entered into a marketing agreement and made an equity investment in AllBusiness.com, a San Francisco-based online business information...

Harford creates new transportation center.(Brief Article)
November 5, 1999... An old fire station is being reborn as the transportation center for a burgeoning mass transit system in Harford County. Currently, the county has a fleet of 34 buses. The new facility will have room for a fleet of 50 vehicles. Currently...

RailWorks wins deals worth $100 million.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 5, 1999... RailWorks Corp., a Baltimore-based railway construction and maintenance company, said it was the apparent low bidder on several lucrative contracts. Company officials announced on Oct. 15 that RailWorks was the apparent low bidder for four...

Tech valley.
November 5, 1999... MicroTel, Hunt Valley grow in stature together When Bill Richardson and Dick Fink founded Micro Tel Inc. in 1972, they knew they were pioneers in the world of defense technology. They probably did not know, however, that they were breaking...

Computer `1sts' shaped history of PC long ago.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 5, 1999... It was the Age of Aquarius. It was also an age of leisure suits, green shag carpeting and eight-track cassettes. While these icons of the '70s never progressed beyond campiness, one innovation of the decade has aged well, and in the process has...

Advisory boards can be strategy for success.(Brief Article)
November 5, 1999... Technological innovation and brain power are only part of the equation for creating a new business. One entrepreneur recently had an innovative educational product, and a potential investor was impressed with the quality of the...

Special police unit focuses on tech crimes.(Statistical Data Included)
November 5, 1999... Sgt. Robert Pulliam is more likely to spend his hours tracking down a hacker's Web address than he is on an all-night stakeout, but that doesn't mean the work of the Austin Police Department's High Tech Crime Unit is getting any easier. ...

Internet presence starts from within company.(Questions and Answers)
November 5, 1999... Does your company have a Web site? If so, great! Now, how many people in the company know the answers to all these questions: 1) What is a Web site URL? 2) What's your company's URL? 3) What's the purpose of the Web site? What...

James H. 'Mitch' Mitchell.
November 5, 1999... It isn't surprising that James H. "Mitch" Mitchell, a preacher's son and former executive at a technology company, now designs software for churches. Mitchell, whose grandfather and father are both preachers, has carved out a niche in the...

Personal computers may be fading away.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 5, 1999... Is the personal computer going the way of the dinosaur? A growing school of thought holds that it could be -- or at least that its dominant role in technology and society will diminish and change over the next few years. That's largely...

Non-techies with skills tapped for IT tenure.(Brief Article)
November 5, 1999... After nine years of working late nights, weekends and exhausting every possible promotion opportunity at a Houston grocery store chain, Ron Shaw decided it was time for a change. But instead of signing on with another retailer, Shaw made a...

The father of long-term investment strategies.(Thomas Rowe Price.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)(Company Profile)
November 5, 1999... It's hard to believe that something as basic as long-term investing was ever considered a daring innovation in the stock market. But when Thomas Rowe Price opened his investment firm in Baltimore in 1937, he bet his future on the radical...

Umbrella central.(Beehler Umbrella Co.)(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
November 5, 1999... The turning point for Baltimore's Beehler Umbrella Co. was when the Ford Motor Co. turned down a proposal to include umbrellas in its higher-end cars as a classy perk. "The chauffeur puts the umbrella up for madame getting out of the car,"...

Stunning technology to be available soon.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 5, 1999... How would your ideal computer differ from the one that sits on your desk today? The engineers who consider that vision see stunning possibilities -- possibilities that will be commercially available surprisingly soon. Moore's Law, named...

Largest philanthropic foundations in the Baltimore area.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)(Directory)
November 5, 1999... Largest philanthropic foundations in the Baltimore area (Ranked by fair market value of assets) Name Fiscal 1998 Address ...

Respect is key to your sales plan.(Brief Article)
November 5, 1999... My sister, Sandy Cooper, has two master's degrees and is principal of an elementary school. She makes more than $60,000 a year and manages 165 employees. Clearly, she can stand on her own. But, when she recently ambled into an auto...

Bonus time.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
November 5, 1999... Firms discover incentives don't need to be cash Each year Calvin Mims treats his 15 employees to a crab feast, just as a way of saying thanks for a job well done. "When you give money, people like it But when everybody gets together...

PEOPLE.
November 5, 1999... ACCOUNTING American Express Tax & Business Services Inc. of Baltimore promoted Paul Weinblatt to senior consultant and Craig Moore to senior manager. Weinblatt works with the company's healthcare group, and Moore works for the firm's...

A senior-level challenge.(Burt Bank, Chesapeake Interlink Ltd)
November 5, 1999... Older tech entrepreneurs find obstacles, advantages By the time Burt Bank decided to start his own software development company, he already had sold two other successful businesses. Bank's resume reads like those of most of his peers...

e.spire loses chief financial officer.(David L. Piazza)(Company Operations)(Brief Article)
November 5, 1999... David L. Piazza resigned as chief financial officer at Annapolis Junction-based e.spire Communications Inc. last week. Company officials did not give any reason for Piazza's departure. John Polchin, vice president and treasurer will serve...

Columbia firm wins Social Security deal.(Scientific Systems and Software International Corp, training at the Social Security Administration)
November 5, 1999... Scientific Systems and Software International Corp., an information technology training firm, was selected to provide a Web-based training program for employees at the Social Security Administration. The year-long contract calls for the...

Company starts Internet lobbying.(Brief Article)
November 5, 1999... A Washington, D.C., company has started a new lobby group to act on behalf of Internet companies and other businesses affected by Internet issues. Edward Segal, founder and president of Edward Segal Communications, a public affairs group,...

Slower growth ahead for online commerce.
November 5, 1999... Online shopping trends for books and compact discs are similar to patterns found in the traditional shopping for ketchup and corn flakes, according to a recently published study by two marketing professors. Peter Fader, associate professor...

Public schools to get grants for technology.(Government Activity)
November 5, 1999... Gov. Parris N. Glendening announced this week that 302 public schools will be awarded technology grants, totaling some $775,000. The money will be used for wiring classrooms, purchasing new hardware and software and technology training for...

Even new programs don't meet Y2K test.
November 5, 1999... You have new hardware. You have new software. Are you ready for the new millennium? Seems like you should be. But, if you read the tortured geek-speak that comprises most Year 2000 disclosure statements, your software vendor...

TAKING STOCK.
November 5, 1999... TAKING STOCK The BBJ Index [*] of 76 stocks closed 1479.56 on Nov. 3, I999 BBJ INDEX [*] Date Average Wednesday,...

Economy suffers with drug addicts.
November 5, 1999... Poor schools, high crime and high taxes are all well-known deterrents in Baltimore City's quest to boost its economic development efforts. But unfortunately the city is also dogged by a reputation for having a citizenry that is riddled with...

Showcasing the generous.
November 5, 1999... When NationsBank moved into the area six years ago with its acquisition of Maryland National Bank -- then the state's largest bank -- the people of Greater Baltimore worried that the region would not recover from losing one of its greatest...

Longing for Hecht's, or perhaps Target, in city.
November 5, 1999... If I told you I remembered the glory days of downtown Baltimore's Howard Street and its grand department stores, my nose would grow. I came of age in the '70s, the golden age of the climate-controlled mall. In those pre-Harborplace days,...

From the publisher.(Wayne Woodrow Hayes)(Editorial)
November 5, 1999... Dear Readers: Wayne Woodrow Hayes was unusual among disciples of the American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson. Hayes, you see, was perhaps the only one ever to win three national titles and four Rose Bowls in college football. You...

From our sponsors.
November 5, 1999... William Couper President, Bank of America-Greater Baltimore At Bank of America, we believe education is a cornerstone of both personal growth and economic development for all communities. With a foundation annual budget of...

It's elementary.
November 5, 1999... School-business partnerships grow in number, importance In the past few years June E. Streckfus has watched a sea-change come over the Baltimore-area business community. As the labor market has tightened, captains of industry have...

Rank of 43rd in giving should be call to action.
November 5, 1999... When I am asked what motivated me to make corporate giving and community relations a priority for Millennium Inorganic Chemicals, I refer to an article that I read this summer that stated that Maryland is the fifth-wealthiest state in the...

Starting foundation continues circle of giving.
November 5, 1999... Regardless of their economic circumstances, all families deserve access to a quality education for their children. For me, this is not an abstract social policy issue. It is a very personal belief. Growing up in the Pimlico neighborhood of...

Businesses are `critical friends' to our schools.
November 5, 1999... Not too long ago, when business talked about a partnership with schools, it meant financial support. To be sure, there is nothing wrong with corporate philanthropy. Donating money or equipment to a school is a praiseworthy and much-needed act...

Baltimore City schools are open to business.
November 5, 1999... As a strong believer in providing opportunities for all students to have a high-quality education, I want to involve our entire community in our efforts to improve the Baltimore City Public School System. In accordance with our mission --...

'Reading by 9' leads the pack in branding.
November 5, 1999... The Baltimore Sun Co.'s award-winning "Reading by 9" initiative may be the most visible, best-known school-business partnership in the area. While it certainly helps that the daily newspaper is its own best, built-in promoter of the...

Corporate philanthropy grows more focused.
November 5, 1999... Tom Corcoran Jr. exemplifies the good corporate soldier. He is upbeat about his job and his employer, even though two downsizings have left him sorting mail at Rohm & Haas Co.'s Bristol, Pa., plant after 30 years with the Philadelphia-based...

Local school overcomes loss of partnership.
November 5, 1999... Nestled in the shadows of "Supermax," the imposing state penitentiary just east of the Jones Falls Expressway, is Baltimore's St. Frances Academy. St. Frances students are mostly from poor families, many of whom live near the penitentiary...

Piper & Marbury brings order to schools.
November 5, 1999... Baltimore firm teaches city students the judicial system through mock trial program For Jeffrey D. Herschman and other lawyers with Piper & Marbury LLP, school-business partnerships yield emotional benefits that go far beyond the...

Program's goal is to change math's image.(Northrup Grumman)
November 5, 1999... The engineers from Northrop Grumman Corp. are on a mission when they visit schools: to redefine the image of math majors as those with taped glasses and pocket protectors. "Often, the students have seen those in math and science as nerds,"...

Better schools are part of Struever's business.
November 5, 1999... For Carl W. "Bill" Struever, school-business partnerships are just another way of helping neighborhoods. Every time his business, Struever Bros., Eccles & Rouse, looks at revitalizing a community, schools are kept in mind. "It's the key to...

Travel agents advise how to pick an agency.
November 5, 1999... Selecting a travel agency can be an overwhelming prospect. There are so many companies to choose from -- how do you find the one best able to fill your needs? "The relationship you have with a travel agent is like the relationship you...

Small companies harness value of video conferences.
November 5, 1999... No business is ever too small to start using the latest technology for its meeting needs. When your company outgrows face-to-face meetings, e-mail and telephone contact, video conferencing may be called for. The video conference lets...

Discovering the ideal destination.
November 5, 1999... Pro planners reveal secrets of meeting site selection Picking the perfect meeting site probably isn't the weightiest business decision you'll ever make, but when it comes to meeting planning, it's the single most important. According...

Welcome to the virtual meeting room.
November 5, 1999... Associations use IT tools for low-cost alternative to live events In May, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan declared technology was primarily responsible for the nation's phenomenal economic growth. For association meeting...

Largest hotels in the metro area.
November 5, 1999... Largest hotels in the metro area Adam Fike Ranked by number of rooms NUMBER OF ...

D.C. business travelers check into wired hotels.
November 5, 1999... The race is on among metro-area hotels to appease the appetites of its business guests for communication and information. Only just recently, the competition for the hospitality industry's mid-week bread-and-butter -- business travelers --...

Read the fine print.(Brief Article)
November 5, 1999... Keep track of cutoff dates for canceling hotel rooms. Most hotels will at least partially refund rooms canceled before a specific date but once that date is past, your money is lost.

Use a two-day response rule.
November 5, 1999... Unless your RFP is a complicated and large affair, the majority should be able to respond within a two-day period.